Number of preschool class pupils with foreign mother tongue in Sweden 2013-2023

The number of pupils with a foreign mother tongue in preschools in Sweden increased by 10,000 from the school year 2012/13 to 2016/17. Since then, the number has been more stable, lying just above 30,000. In the school years 2022/23, there were just above 30,000 children with a foreign mother tongue in Swedish preschools.

The year before starting compulsory school, children in Sweden are offered a voluntary one year preschool class. The class combines the pedagogical methods of the preschool with those of compulsory school. Usually children start a preschool class at the age of six.